I am the happy owner of two boards from Starboard a Futura101 in wood carbon, used with Hellcats 6.2 and 7.2 and a Kode86 in wood carbon, used with Hellcat 5.2 and Alpha 4.5. And it is pleasure two sail these two boards covering a wind range from 15 knots to 31 knots.

My question is which board in the Starboard range will suit wind between 9 to 15 knots, My thought is to use a sail size around 8.5 to 9.0 with camber. Looking for some speed and crusing and of course fun

A larger Futura or Ultrasonic ?

I weigh 80 kilograms and is a freerider by heart. My level is intermidiate+. Doing jibes, water starts, etc.

Hello Claus,
For 9 to 15 knots i would say the Ultrasonic because it is really wide.
I own a Ultrasonic, a Futura 111 and 133 and sailed the 122, 14x, 155 at Lahamy Bay Egypt. I like the US very much because its very easy to handle and starts planning early. Its great fun to sail with 9+ sails.
The Futura 155 is not more in production. The 141 Futura has 80cm width, too less for your required winds.
Pat

I think your 8.5 is too small for 9-15 knots. If you really want to have fun, you will need at least a 9.2 or 10.0. They both will work great on the Ultrasonic.

While the iSonics carry large sails and plane somewhat early, they are not as much fun for recreational sailing as the Futura or the Ultrasonic. For your wind range, the Ultrasonic is the call. With a 10.0 and some pumping, you will get planing at around 8 knots.

since we are speaking about LITE winds 9-15 knots and want "speed, cruising and fun", what is wrong with the Phantom 377 ?? Looks like little to no pumping required and work well with larger cambered sails. Not sure what Remi would suggest as a max on that new "bat mobile"

For me 9 to 15 knot winds have lulls where we live. The longboards or KONAs suit this type of wind very well.

Stupid question number three(3) :-)
Must one always go fast to have fun ?? Cruising on a longboard with the keel down on a beautiful sunny day can be VERY pleasant..

According to me, all of the proposed boards in the responses so far will work fine.

The question is, what will work the best for you.
If you would have asked me for a 8-12 wind range, I definitely would have said the US but with a 10+ sail.

For a solid 9-15 knots, perhaps you're better off with a smaller size. But always remember that in light winds, sudden lulls can and will stop you from planing when you're on too small boards, especially when you need to point to come back to your starting point. If you don't mind this go for the smaller size. If you hate this, like I do, go for the bigger size.

I'm 87 kg and recently the proud owner of a US147 and I can tell you that this board is really great in ultra light winds starting from 8 knots. On the other hand, it also behaves very well when the wind picks up even over 15 knots. I also use the US when I'm with my IS122 + 8.8 sail in 15 knots and suddenly the wind gets unstable. I only change the board then, not the sail, so US + 8.8 and boy this combination rocks !

Hi Clause,
Plenty of great feedback already. Like Bel says, If your ONLY looking at the XL Futura or US147, then definetly go with the US147 as it should be going faster in your 9k to 15k 9m range.

But to be honest with you, if its blowing 9k to 15k, and your looking MAX speed you should consider iS127/137 and 9m/9.5m. You can pump to get going in 9k easily, and in the 15k gusts, you will be hitting around 30k peaks so it will be plenty of light wind fun. Slightly more effort needed c/w the US147, but if max speed in light winds is what you need, this will be the fastest set-up.

Several of last years PWA events were in the 9k to 15k range, if you watch the online videos you will see that they are flying

if you weigh 80kg you wont get going much earlier with a 137 than with a 127, i doubt a ultrasonic will get going much earlier than a 127, IF you know how to pump, that is, if you dont pump, or if your spot is full of gusty wind a ultrasonic might be better. I sail a 127 with a 9.3, and with a few pumps i find it planes just as early as my formula with the same sail, but it´s not going upwind in the same way! i´m 86kg

My question is which board in the Starboard range will suit wind between 9 to 15 knots, My thought is to use a sail size around 8.5 to 9.0 with camber. Looking for some speed and crusing and of course fun

A larger Futura or Ultrasonic ?

I weigh 80 kilograms and is a freerider by heart. My level is intermidiate+. Doing jibes, water starts, etc.

Best regards
Claus

Claus,

Mark H is spot on : an UltraSonic is king in light wind considering your 80 kg weight. However, I would disagree with him that an iSonic 127/137 + 9.0/9.5 sail combo will get you going as of 9 knots easily. Perhaps for a racer yes, but for an intermediate level, no way... You will need a hell of pumping skills to get going such racing gear in so little wind, so better to avoid it for now, especially since you describe yourself as a freerider by heart.

Avoid a Formula as well : way too much technical to tune up, too much focused on upwind/downwind angle, too much racing skills-demanding for a freerider by heart.

The UltraSonic will get you planing passively way earlier than say a large Carve or Futura. To let you plane without too much pumping as of 9 knots of wind, I'll suggest you to consider a large 2-3 cambers freerace sail, large enough to be powerfull and grunty enough in 9.x-10.x size range. Models of powerhouse light wind sails are for example Severne Overdrive, North Sails RAM/S-Type, Neil Pryde Slalom/H2, Gaastra Phantom/GTX, etc... Avoid +4 cambers pure racing sails for now.